I forgot to hit the publish button for my yesterday's post, doing 3 things all at the same time can really be stressful. *sigh*

Anyway, it is evident on my blog that half of my life was spent pretty much on designing and taking photos. My parents thought I'm blessed with creative hands and thought I'm gonna take fine arts when I was still in high school. I sort of listened to some graduates before finally choosing the right college course, they say painting can't make money so I took advertising. Just sharing.

You know when they say you have psychological insomnia? It doesn't really exist but I think I have that kind of syndrome. I don't know how to sleep or maybe I just chose not to sleep at all. On my normal days that I don't bring the office laptop at home, either I watch A LOT of movies on HBO just to get my sleep or I'll find time doing artsy scrap from my old art attack box, just to kill the boredom.

Not on this Saturday where I've been 50% productive. I was able to visit my Aunt's garment shop at Marikina Heights for the project I've been long preparing for. If you've been reading my blog, you will see a teaser ad here of my plans on getting back on drawing again. Tita was very supportive and was hyped when I shared my plans in the next few months. She was really kind enough to share some insights and advice.

I got home a little earlier than expected and found myself talking to boredom again. Then I suddenly remembered the art attack box.

Now how do I kill my own boredom?

#1If I'm not watching TV as I've mentioned, I reorganize my things inside my closet and select all those I haven't been using for a closet sale.

Some of the things I have sold for my closet sale.

Whenever I arrange/schedule a closet sale, I make sure that I have selected the things I haven't used for quite some time and I make sure that they are still in good condition. Since they are 2nd hand items, I sell them for very low prices (php 20 to php 50 only!). Also gives me extra bucks to buy ice cream . *wink*

Have you ever heard of the Backpack Story by Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) from the movie Up In The Air?

Photo from www.screencave.com

"How much does your life weigh? Imagine for a second that you're carrying a backpack. I want you to pack it with all the stuff that you have in your life... you start with the little things. The shelves, the drawers, the knickknacks, then you start adding larger stuff. Clothes, tabletop appliances, lamps, your TV... the backpack should be getting pretty heavy now. You go bigger. Your couch, your car, your home... I want you to stuff it all into that backpack. Now I want you to fill it with people. Start with casual acquaintances, friends of friends, folks around the office... and then you move into the people you trust with your most intimate secrets. Your brothers, your sisters, your children, your parents and finally your husband, your wife, your boyfriend, your girlfriend. You get them into that backpack, feel the weight of that bag. Make no mistake your relationships are the heaviest components in your life. All those negotiations and arguments and secrets, the compromises. The slower we move the faster we die. Make no mistake, moving is living. Some animals were meant to carry each other to live symbiotically over a lifetime. Star crossed lovers, monogamous swans. We are not swans. We are sharks. "

Similarly, the backpack is our life journey, most of us have heavy backpacks.

Young people like I do tend to stuff everything in our backpacks. We are restless and impatient, we want to explore everything and experience anything because we are young and we think we are free. I, for an instance, would like to pack everything that I could ever think of just to enjoy a long trip - a camera, wardrobe of some sort, some accessories, a pillow, a warm blanket etc. I would definitely enjoy a journey with all that weight on my back.

But later on, I'm gonna realize who will be joining me on my trip. Wouldn't it be nicer if I could share a backpack or perhaps a luggage with somebody else?

(This is my alter ego writing on a Thursday morning, the real Joy C. is in her deep sleep.)

When I walked around the office wearing this long Boho skirt, people joked that I'm gonna be an old maid. I don't think so. I kept a promise inside my heart and locked it there, I'm hopeful and thankful that I, for all the imperfections I have in my bones, am loved and well taken cared of.

This would be my second entry for Jenson Taylor's 7 Day Blog Challenge, geez I'm sort of getting hyped and surprisingly found myself writing again - without hesitations. ;p

The rules are simple.Each blog post topic must share the first letter as the day of the post. E.g. "Technology Tuesday", "Martial Arts Monday", "Follow Friday", "French Friday" etc.We are free to pick any topic we'd like to write or post about. There is no requirements on the length of the post so it could a blog post or could be a single photo. It started yesterday: Monday 19th March 2012 and will end on Sunday 25th March 2012 so all in all, we need to come up with 7 posts! Whew!

And what I have for Tuesday? Tech Talk.

To tell you honestly, I'm not in the right position to blog about the latest gadgets or technology in the market today. In short, I'm not a techie person. Even my phone is already outdated! But to be surrounded with a bunch of techie guys (half of our office population is dominated by men), I can't help but to also give in with the latest of today's technology.

iPad3. It was released just a few days ago and lucky me (I mean us), we were able to see the one of the latest iPad3 in the Philippines.The techie big boss just got one which is the 3rd here in our country, and like a little boy with a new toy, here's to show some of their photos unveiling the latest from Apple.

iPad3 is very similar to iPad2 in physical aspects, only a bit thicker by 0.6 mm. It can even fit into an iPad2's Smart Cover.

Do take note that iPad3 has a bigger camera diameter than iPad2, which can basically give you a clearer photo.

And of course, since iPad3 is already on Dual-core Apple A5X, it's performance is better than iPad2 - definitely a good news for iPad users.

Way back when I'm still studying and daydreaming all at once, I've been creating a lot of D-I-Y stuffs for my personal use. Cards, outfits, accessories, school project paraphernalia., etc - I would always make a dummy/prototype of what I want too see and feel before I get into the real thing - a majestic production topped with a handful of creativity. Big thanks to Sintang Paaralan (Polytechnic University of the Philippines) for the knowledge. It sort of became a habit and surprisingly, I'm doing it until now and what more, I'm starting to believe that in operating and marketing a business of your own, you should be able to deliver YOUR marketing message YOUR way - the way you want it and the way you want your target market to get it. Cost efficient is how I'm gonna describe all things D-I-Y. You can take control of everything. You have the ability to put limitations on your business or exceed limits and expand your reach, whatever your choice.Let's put my small business as an example. I'm doing creative party invitations as a part-time job, officially last year.

Are you gonna do it the traditional way OR make use of a more practical way to manage your time wisely?

I'm proud to say that I'm blessed with creative hands and an eye for screaming colors. Given limited resources and minimal budget, I can turn something bare into a big thing of beauty. Until softwares for images came in. Free downloads let you manage your images creatively, the way you want it - presets for Lightroom, actions for Photoshop, collage for Picassa etc. And what more is that, there are some softwares that is very easy to use, all you need to learn is how to click and correctly follow instructions! D-I-Y has indeed innovated! I would've used my colored pencils, scissors, and strings and started doing crafts but to make use of my time wisely, I opted to D-I-Y my party invitations through the softwares I use online. Outcome? 50 to hundred pieces of rush party invitations in 1day. Capital? Printing only. Budget friendly? Yes it is. Profitable? Pasok sa banga.So what's my point? Consider your business without a website.

For start-up or small businesses, budget will always be an issue. Entrepreneurs will consider focusing on the demand of their product and gather profits first and realize later on that they really haven't made a home on the web, if not for their social media connections. And what if those social media websites disappear just like Friendster? Oh no.

Unless there is a cost effective way of getting your business on the web, to be seen by over a billion users online, the way you want it and the way you want your message to be delivered - a D-I-Y website builder.

Here's something that I really want to share for the past few weeks now, and surprisingly, it works.

iRepublic is a product of Tridel Technologies, makers of iManila and is 16 years in the industry

Believe it or not, it is not as difficult as it sounds.iRepublicD-I-Y website builder makes it super easy to create your website in no time. There’s no programming required and no separate web hosting company to deal with. Just start making your website right away by selecting a professionally designed template and adding text and images. You can even upload your own images or use some of the thousands that website builder services have available. Create multiple pages (photo albums, newsletters, catalogs, etc) and you’re done. You can also setup an online store and start selling products easily.

All the packages from iRepublic offer a drag-and-drop system that lets you place texts, logos, videos, and other content where you want them on the page. It really has a user friendly interface. Depending on the website builder plan you choose, the system also comes with tools that let you optimize for the search engines, submit to social media sites, and integrate a lot of other features into the page. D-I-Y Website builders are indeed a great solution for complete beginners and start-up businesses.

Here's a sample of a D-I-Y website that Kuya and I made: click here. You can also try the website builder demo here and tell me what you think. ;p

About Me

Hi, my name is Jhoysi. I'm half a jet-setter from the Philippines and I live in the beautiful city of Dubai, UAE. My blog is a little haven of my thrift travels, adventures, and random thoughts. If you have questions and or interested to collaborate with my blog, email me at jhoysi (at) thethrifttrip (dot) com or joy (dot) caasi (at) gmail (dot) com. Ciao!

Legal

If you see your picture featured and don't want it to be, email me with link and I will take it down right away. Do not steal my photos or make a profit out of them. If you intend to copy any of the photos, kindly put proper credits and link it back to this site. For inquiries, kindly send an email to joy (dot) caasi (at) gmail (dot ) com.